SMART (advertising agency)
Encyclopedia
SMART is an independent Australian and New Zealand
advertising agency
with offices in Sydney
, Melbourne
, Queensland
and Auckland
. Launched in 2000 as a boutique creative agency, the business has been described by AdNews Magazine as "one of the best known independent advertising agency success stories" in Australia.
The firm was originally positioned as a specialist in youth advertising, partly due to the age of its founding partners who were each under thirty when they set up the agency. Marketing magazine B&T named SMART "the New Age ad agency" in its Agency of the Year awards in 2003. It has since been more broadly noted as part of a new breed of agencies who are "breaking away from traditional advertising models".
The media interest in SMART's "non-traditional" model is typical of a broader industry trend being observed in most developed advertising markets, with independent agencies like TAXI
and StrawberryFrog experiencing similar recognition for their unconventional business models.
, One Show, Clio Awards
, New York Festivals and local Australian advertising shows. The business was named B&T Agency of the Year in 2003 and was subsequently recognised in the AdNews Agency of the Year Awards in 2004 and 2005, and both the AdNews and B&T Agency of the Year Awards in 2006. SMART has also featured in the Business Review Weekly
Fast100 list of Australia's fastest growing businesses.
The agency is known for taking a selective approach to its clients, focusing on "blue-chip" creative advertisers such as adidas
, Coca Cola, Ferrero
, Levi's, McDonald's
and Unilever
.
SMART has been recognised for several Australian agency firsts, such as its appointment by iconic Australian brand Mambo
, a client who had previously refused to work with advertising agencies. It has also gained infamy for several unconventional stunts, including sending dwarves to the headquarters of Peugeot
in an effort to secure a spot on the car maker's agency pitch list. A stunt that involved agency staff disguising themselves as takeaway delivery drivers to post recruitment advertisements inside competing agencies attracted considerable criticism.
, and was named one of AdNews's forty top industry professionals under forty.
SMART's partners now also include ex-Young & Rubicam
strategy planner Ashley Farr and highly-awarded ex-JWT
creative director John Mescall, both also regular media commentators. Mescall writes a regular AdNews column, SmartArse, and is an annual on-the-spot reporter from the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. While the Creative Director of SMART's Sydney office and stand-up comedian, Daniel Gregory, has featured on a television show about advertising, The Gruen Transfer and is co-author of the book What I Wish I Knew at Eighteen.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
advertising agency
Advertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
with offices in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
. Launched in 2000 as a boutique creative agency, the business has been described by AdNews Magazine as "one of the best known independent advertising agency success stories" in Australia.
A "non-traditional" creative agency
SMART was established by a group of ex-multinational agency professionals seeking to create "a strategic and creative alternative to traditional agency thinking". The company's business model has been described as a "borderless" approach, bringing together specialists from various locations and disciplines to service its clients' needs.The firm was originally positioned as a specialist in youth advertising, partly due to the age of its founding partners who were each under thirty when they set up the agency. Marketing magazine B&T named SMART "the New Age ad agency" in its Agency of the Year awards in 2003. It has since been more broadly noted as part of a new breed of agencies who are "breaking away from traditional advertising models".
The media interest in SMART's "non-traditional" model is typical of a broader industry trend being observed in most developed advertising markets, with independent agencies like TAXI
TAXI (advertising agency)
TAXI is a marketing communications company that was founded, in 1992, in Montreal. TAXI is wholly owned subsidiary of Y&R Brands, which is owned by London based WPP. The company has five locations in Canada, one in the United States and one in Europe...
and StrawberryFrog experiencing similar recognition for their unconventional business models.
Clients and awards
SMART's creative work has been recognized at advertising award shows including the Cannes Lions International Advertising FestivalCannes Lions International Advertising Festival
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is a global event for those working in advertising and related fields. The seven-day festival, incorporating the awarding of the Lions awards, is held yearly at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France...
, One Show, Clio Awards
Clio Awards
The Clio Awards are annual awards bestowed to reward innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design and communication. The categories include work in nearly all types of media, and the judges are advertising professionals from around the world....
, New York Festivals and local Australian advertising shows. The business was named B&T Agency of the Year in 2003 and was subsequently recognised in the AdNews Agency of the Year Awards in 2004 and 2005, and both the AdNews and B&T Agency of the Year Awards in 2006. SMART has also featured in the Business Review Weekly
Business Review Weekly
BRW is an Australian weekly business magazine published by the Fairfax Media group. It regularly compiles lists which rank corporations and individuals according to various criteria, similar to Fortune magazine in the United States.BRW provides news and commentary on the economy, business and...
Fast100 list of Australia's fastest growing businesses.
The agency is known for taking a selective approach to its clients, focusing on "blue-chip" creative advertisers such as adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
, Coca Cola, Ferrero
Ferrero
Ferrero is a surname of Italian and Spanish origin that means "smith," the person who works with iron, and may refer to:Persons:*Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora , Italian general and statesman*Benita Ferrero-Waldner Ferrero is a surname of Italian (from Piedmont) and Spanish origin that means "smith,"...
, Levi's, McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
and Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
.
SMART has been recognised for several Australian agency firsts, such as its appointment by iconic Australian brand Mambo
Mambo Graphics
Mambo is an Australian surf and street clothing brand. It was launched in 1984, by and business partner, Andrew Rich in the Sydney suburb of Alexandria.- Early Days :...
, a client who had previously refused to work with advertising agencies. It has also gained infamy for several unconventional stunts, including sending dwarves to the headquarters of Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
in an effort to secure a spot on the car maker's agency pitch list. A stunt that involved agency staff disguising themselves as takeaway delivery drivers to post recruitment advertisements inside competing agencies attracted considerable criticism.
Agency principals
The agency's founding partners were CEO Ben Lilley and Creative Director Paul Findlay. Lilley is a regular media commentator, particularly in the area of youth marketingYouth marketing
Youth Marketing is a term used in the marketing and advertising industry to describe activities to communicate with young people, typically in the age range of 12 to 34...
, and was named one of AdNews's forty top industry professionals under forty.
SMART's partners now also include ex-Young & Rubicam
Young & Rubicam
Y&R is a marketing and communications company specializing in advertising, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting.-History:...
strategy planner Ashley Farr and highly-awarded ex-JWT
JWT
JWT is one of the largest advertising agencies in the United States and the fourth-largest in the world. It is one of the key companies of Sir Martin Sorrell's WPP Group and is headquartered in New York. The global agency is led by Worldwide Chairman and Global CEO Bob Jeffrey who took over the...
creative director John Mescall, both also regular media commentators. Mescall writes a regular AdNews column, SmartArse, and is an annual on-the-spot reporter from the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. While the Creative Director of SMART's Sydney office and stand-up comedian, Daniel Gregory, has featured on a television show about advertising, The Gruen Transfer and is co-author of the book What I Wish I Knew at Eighteen.